Can anyone explain to me the mysterious alchemy by which, once having become famous, one can never become un-famous? (And please go the hell away.)

This never used to be the case. Once upon a time, Albert Schweitzer and Enrico Caruso were world renowned, their names bywords for greatness. Today their celebrity currency is worth next to nothing.

On the other hand, I have a feeling people will still be chattering about Paris Hilton two hundred years from now.

Anyway: it's too easy to blame the very existence of these two new shows on "Hollywood stupidity" alone. American women watch The View day in and day out; there's clearly a lucrative market for stupid, annoying females on television.